Publisher's Summary

Book One in the House of Night series, this is Buffy meets Gossip Girl. Bolinda is thrilled to have this international best-selling series on its audio list. Listen up for Books 2 and 3 in late 2008!Five-star reviews on amazon.com and amazon.co.uk

Enter the dark, magical world of the House of Night, a world very much like our own, except here vampires have always existed.

Sixteen-year-old Zoey Redbird has just been Marked as a fledgling vampire and joins the House of Night, a school where she will train to become an adult vampire. That is, if she makes it through the Change - and not all of those who are Marked do.

It sucks to begin a new life, especially away from her friends, and on top of that, Zoey is no ordinary fledgling. She has been chosen as special by the vampire Goddess Nyx. Zoey discovers she has amazing powers, but along with her powers come bloodlust and an unfortunate ability to Imprint her human ex-boyfriend. To add to her stress, she is not the only fledgling at the House of Night with special powers. When she discovers that the leader of the Dark Daughters, the school's most elite group, is misusing her Goddess-given gifts, Zoey must look deep within herself for the courage to embrace her destiny - with a little help from her new vampire friends.

This is a well written book, however I question the placement of YOUNG adult. Strong Characters, and real life situations make for rewarding literature. The concepts principles and the narrator are a total win-win.

My only complaint would be that young adult and kids are so closely linked on the website. The introduction to the book even pronounces "This is Audible Kids". The subject matter is mostly adult, and older teens. High sexual content does make me worry that younger children might get an inappropriate dose of Oral Sex, Casual Sex, Sex as a way to keep a boyfriend, Alcohol abuse, Alcohol abuse at school and marijuana use. Of course that is only the first six chapters.

All that having been said, it is a good book, which was well read. I hope that Audible gets the rest of the series (Currently they only have book 1 and book 4, 2 and 3 to be released in late 2008). I would however need to know the teen, and their mental maturity level to recommend this book.

I would also suggest that Audible section 'young adult' and 'kids' sections in a way that makes this book less likely to fall into the hands of the young and mentally immature. Perhaps also amending the "Audible Kids" to pronounce "Audible Teens". As a responsible parent I try to check the literature my children listen to and read. Appropriately sectioning, and correct product placement does go a long way to assisting parents.

This audiobook could have been better. The narration was just awful. The narrator attempts to perform accents but can't pull it off. If you can't do it then don't. It's that simple. It's really distracting. The novel itself is one of those that is borderline (the writing really isn't that great but it's tolerable) but the narration makes the book unbearable. It's a good thing I got this on sale!!

THIS STORY WAS PRETTY GOOD FOR IT TO BE THE FIRST BOOK IN A SERIES. I DIDNT KNOW IF I WOULD LIKE THE BOOK BASED ON THE FIRST 30 MINUTES BUT IT GETS BETTER AS YOU GO ALONG. THE ONLY THING THAT MIGHT BOTHER SOME PEOPLE IS THE NARRATORS VERY SLIGHT AUSTRALIAN ACCENT.

Edwina Wren is a terrible narrator, she cannot pronounce some common words, and she gives Shaunee a character from Connecticut a Southern accent, which makes absolutely no sense and is very distracting.

As the previous posts have stated, this book isn't for kids. It does deal with some grown up topics: drugs, sexy, and drinking. I think that it's fine for late teens and 20 somethings.

The book seemed to start off really slow for me. I almost felt like skipping through the book to get to better parts. I'm happy I stuck with it though. After I got through the first third of the book, I really liked it. So...give it a chance...stick to it, I promise that it's a great series.

Sorry, but the narrator is soo irritating in this book I couldn't get past the first half hour. I wanted to turn it off in the first five minutes but to get my moneys worth I left it on. Unfortunately I didn't preview the audio before purchasing. Not only is the main characters voice annoying it gets worse with the other characters. Not even my 14 year old sister could stand to listen to it.

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

No. I admit that I enjoy a good young adult story, but this is not what I would consider good. I started the series, and I'm the kind of person who has to see it through to the end. I really wish I had borrowed it from my local library rather than spending a credit.

What could P. C. Cast and Kristin Cast have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

The writing is pretty bad. The "teenaged" dialogue is over-the-top and annoying ... like, totally.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

The narration was odd. I had to look her up because her mispronunciations were so odd, but it seems Edwina Wren is Australian doing an American accent. Idea became "idear", Oklahoma became "Oklahomer", mocha became "mock-a", and so on. It was just odd at times.

Do you think Marked needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Unfortunately, there are 10+ books in the series (at the time of this review) and I can't leave a series unfinished. I wish there weren't any sequels!

Any additional comments?

The sexual content can be explicit at times, so this is definitely for older teens and truly young adults. This is not a series for anyone younger than 16-17 years old, or older than 21 or 22. Totally.

it is a teen series but i am 31 and i love it. It is not ur normal vampire story. The girl gets marked and has to go to the house of night for the 4 year change. The first book in the series is her life at the house of night for the first month of her change. You think this is just going to be a normal teen but it is not. It is for everyone that love vampire stories of all ages. Once you start listening to the story u will not be able to put it down. And audible uk is the best!!!

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Katie

Doncaster, South Yourkshire, United Kingdom

5/28/10

Overall

"Harry Potter meets queen of the damed"

Love it! Griping exciting vampire story mythic and not the usual vamp love story which is a refreshing change.
If you liked Buffy, Angel and the vampire diarys you will love it, it's very different to twilight but in a good way, thought I still enjoyed twilight. Marked is just as good if not better.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Nadia

Fleet, United Kingdom

6/18/10

Overall

"Marked"

My mum recommended this book to me and I'm certainly glad I listened. Written by a mother and daughter team, this book begins a series unlike any other vampire series currently wetting our appitites, combining magic and folklore. With the main character, Zoe's narration to guide us, we are instantly sucked into her world. Her voice is excellent and she's a strong and likable heroine. The reader will sympathise as we watch Zoe struggle to come to terms with her fledgeling vampire state. The writing is descriptive and at times, both funny and moving, and the story is original and gripping. A promising start to the series.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

James

TaurangaNew Zealand

3/28/10

Overall

"This is a great start to a series."

Well this is a story of a teen age girl name Zoey. She is marked on the forehead to become a vampire. She has to go to the house of night to start the change. Its a school for teens that are charging into a vampire. Zoey's mark is different to the other 3rd formers and the adult vampires think she is special because of her mark.. This is a good start to a great series and cant wait to listen to the rest of the books. 5 out of 5. This book is aimed at teens but adults will enjoy the book as well.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Katherine

Droitwich, Worcs, United Kingdom

6/27/09

Overall

"Brilliant"

This was my first time listening to an audio book and what a start this has me hooked. Absolutely brilliant.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Simone

BIRMINGHAM, United Kingdom

2/26/16

Overall

"Addictive"

I love this series of books, this is the second time of listening to them highly addictive and a different take on vampire's.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Misty

UK

10/27/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"Narrator made the book."

Sometimes you can listen to a book and it's just not doing it for you, for me this was not one of those times. The narrator made the book for me and the voices where convincing for the different characters, I loved this series when I read it in paperback so I wasn't sure how it would be listening to it but it was really enjoyable. Looking forward to the next in the series.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Natalie

3/12/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"amazing"

Really enjoyable read every chapter ends with you wanting more! can't wait for the next!

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

J A Bull

3/9/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"Nice easy story"

The reader had an annoying whining voice but otherwise is was Ok. The story has some interesting ideas... might have a look at the next book in the series!

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Ruby

7/7/14

Overall

Performance

Story

"Absolutely love it!!!"

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would definitely recommend this book to a friend. I have already read most of the series, and was so excited when I found that I could get this on audible. The story is great, the book is well read, and I couldn't wait to buy the next one! The end of every chapter makes you want to read the next one, and you'd be stupid to not get this.

What other book might you compare Marked to, and why?

If you're a fan of the Vampire Academy series, them you'll definitely love this series. They're not the same, and I've never found another book like this, but if you like that series of books, then you'll definitely love this one.

What about Edwina Wren’s performance did you like?

I liked how she pronounced the Cherokee words, cause even I didn't know how to do that! I also liked how she gave each character their own identity, and how her voice lets you imagine what she's reading. She's an absolutely brilliant choice for the book, and I couldn't think of anyone better.

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

The life of a vampyre sucks, literally.

Any additional comments?

Get this book. If you're like me, use a credit. If you're not, buy it anyway! It's too good to miss out on!

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

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